


This Road Leads Back to Home

by Consequences Unforeseen (Anchorsville)



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Also rebels later, F/M, Focusing really on Metro cops and Civilians, Gen, No main Half Life characters except like maybe mentioned, Takes place during HL2, Universe only
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:53:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24470860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anchorsville/pseuds/Consequences%20Unforeseen
Summary: A Civil Protection officer feels remorse for a raid and gets the opportunity right his wrongs.Takes place in the Half Life Universe (City 17) but does not really feature any of the main characters in Half Life. I tried to stay consistent to lore for Half Life 2, but there's some things I felt that Half Life Alyx did waaaay better and so there are some implements that are from Half Life Alyx that exist in this.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 4





	This Road Leads Back to Home

**Author's Note:**

> Just a major heads up if you didn't notice - This fiction only *takes place* in the Half Life universe. Main characters like Gordon Freeman or Breen, will merely only be mentioned. If you are looking for a fanfic about them then this is not the fic for you. This story is simply about completely original characters in this universe.

A forceful hand pounded against the door as a squad of metrocops were bunched together in a narrow hallway. “Open up,” a powerful voice barked through his gas mask as they heard scurrying in the apartment. They waited for another second before hammering against the door again. “Simon, Mason, get ready,” Spencer hissed quietly as he pulled out his stun baton. This wasn’t the first time civilians didn’t comply with a routine search and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.

“CP, everyone look out!” A civilian screamed as Spencer kicked down the door. A multitude of cops rushed in with their batons in the air, ready to strike. It was only a matter of seconds before they had four men pinned against the ground. 

“Why didn’t you open?” Spencer grabbed one of the civilians by the back of his neck. Before the man could even answer, Spencer snapped at him again, this time even more forceful. “Why didn’t you open?”

“I was scared,” the man mumbled weakly.

“Search the place,” one of the other officers demanded as Spencer continued to question the remaining men. Mason signalled Simon to go to the left bedroom.

Simon proceeded to step into the room with the creaky, dirty hardwood floors. He searched around, first making sure nothing was hiding in the tiny, brown nightstand. As he rummaged through a bookcase, looking for anything suspect, he heard an odd noise coming from the closed closet. 

Slowly, he approached the closet, trying to make as little noise as possible. The doors creaked as he opened it to see a pair of fearful, blue eyes staring back at him. A short woman with long, auburn hair held her legs tightly against her chest in the center of the closet. Tears rolled down her freckled cheeks silently as her eyes shut, presumably assuming the worst.

For only a second, all sound went silent. “Find anything over there?” A distorted voice shouted from across the apartment. 

“No.” 

Simon shut the closet doors before returning to the main room. All the citizens were handcuffed and in the process of being escorted to separate containment vehicles. He followed Mason out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him. Outside of the apartment complex, he could hear Spencer filling Overwatch on what he found out from the men he questioned.

There were two containment vans waiting to be filled. The other metrocops shoved the prisoners in as fast as they could. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” one of the arrested men protested, causing a scene while he was shoved into the back of a van. Nobody on the streets did anything, they simply watched. Simon noticed a familiar face watching from a window on the second floor. 

Simon accompanied Mason to walk back to their armored personnel carrier. Mason started the engine as Simon sat uncomfortably in the passenger seat. Finally, he had a moment to take off the gas mask. “It’s hot out,” he complained as they drove off. 

“Right?” Mason was too focused on the road to say much.

“Are all routine searches like that?”

“Nah, only if they don’t comply.”

“So...uh...when do I get to try out the...simulation?” Simon nervously asked as he scratched his head.

“Huh?”

Simon coughed. “The reproduction-”

“Is that why you joined?” 

“No, I joined for the food,” he mumbled, pulling a substance bar from his pockets. He sighed as his partner didn’t respond. The drive home felt longer than usual, but Simon was just happy to finally go back home and have some time off. He got changed before heading towards his apartment, making sure his neighbors didn’t know he was a part of civil protection.

The apartment complex was dull and dark. Even though Simon had become a metrocop, he had yet to be relocated. He came home to the same, dreary old apartment. Out the windows, he had a good view of the trains leaving for Nova Prospekt. Even as the sun went down, Simon couldn’t get much sleep. Watching the trains and listening to Breen’s recurring broadcasts on his radio was all he could do all night. Eventually, the sounds finally lulled him to sleep.

In the morning, Simon woke up on the hardwood floor to the sound of stomping downstairs. He slowly got up and left the apartment, being careful to lock his door on the way out. While stepping down the stairs, he could see another metrocop search at one of his neighbor’s apartments. He didn’t linger and left the complex as fast as he could.

The city was loud. Scanners flew around, watching people. Other civil protection officers patrolled the areas. Citizens sparsely walked on the sidewalk, anxiously eyeing the metrocops around them. Simon began to walk down, noticing the cops had recognized him and paid no attention to him, unlike they did the civilians around him. 

It felt like a long walk down to pick up rations, but Simon made it to an old, repurposed building. The remains of what used to be a restaurant was now another rations station. He stood in line for a little. Everyone surrounding him was miserable. Everyone wore the same blue clothes. Nobody smiled. It was just another average day of living in a post-seven hour war life.

As he moved forward, he saw a familiar face in the front. The woman who had been crying in a closet the day before was now trying to get herself a standard ration package but was too many credits short. She ended up leaving with only bread.

Feeling guilty, Simon used some of his extra credits to get her rations, as well as one for himself. “Hey, wait,” he shouted as he ran out the door after her. She stopped and turned around not too far outside.

“Do I know you?” She nervously asked.

“Here,” he handed her one of the ration packets he was holding. “I saw you had some trouble getting food.”

“Thanks,” she mumbled, holding it close to her chest. “Look, I’d repay you but all my credits were with my husband and...Look, I won’t bear you with the details, but I really don’t know how I’m going to survive right now.” She paused, seeing Simon’s expression. “Sorry, I don’t mean to dump this all on you. It’s been a really rough night.”

“I’m...sorry to hear that…”

“Yeah,” she said, detached from the conversation. “Anyways, I’m grateful, I really am. Thank you, very much.” She began to shuffle away uncomfortable, but suddenly stopped. Her head turned back at Simon, who was simply waiting for her reaction. “Hey…” Clearly an idea had hit her as she moved herself back. “Can we meet somewhere more...private?”

“Uh, sure.”

“Can I visit your apartment?”

Simon nodded. “Do you want to go now?”

“No, I want to come later,” she whispered to him. Simon quickly wrote his address for her with an old red marker he had in his pocket. He was surprised it still worked. “Thank you...I’ll talk to you more later,” she murmured secretly. 

The woman walked away without even giving her name, leaving Simon standing like an idiot, wondering what she even wanted.


End file.
